What does it mean to be a part of Thacher tradition?

From the moment Sherman Day Thacher opened the School in 1889, his students began to create traditions—an eclectic range of meaningful, quirky, or fun customs that become part of School life—and to pass them on to succeeding generations. We can only guess who started some traditions, because they seem to have always been there. And new traditions are constantly added, as incoming students and new faculty re-create the School. In fact, this may be Thacher’s best tradition of all—bringing talented, supportive, creative people together in one extraordinary place.

Big Gymkhana

On a weekend in early May, riders in the Horse Program—all the freshmen and many upperclassmen—compete on teams in all sorts of horse races: barrels and poles, the hurry-scurry, the rescue race, even the Silver Dollar pick-up. Big Gymkhana Weekend draws hundreds of current Thacher families, alumni, and visitors to the School.

Holidays

The campus echoes with wild cheering when the head of school announces a holiday at assembly. Snow is one reason for a day off. It’s a rare event, but if a student is able to make a snowball on The Pergola, everyone is granted a day off from classes. Faculty babies are born more often than snow falls, and the happy event is also cause for a holiday. Sometimes, there’s a day off “just because.”

Holiday Caroling

After first-trimester exams, and just before everyone leaves for December break, anyone who’d like to makes the rounds of the campus, stopping at each dorm to serenade their peers with Christmas carols. Somewhere around midnight, the carolers wind down and head to the head of school’s home for cookies, brownies, and hot chocolate or cider.

The Silver Dollar Club

The great personal challenge of a Thacher student’s first year comes at Big Gymkhana—the chance to become a member of the exclusive Silver Dollar Club. To join, a rider must manage to scoop up a silver dollar from the dusty ground while leaning wa-a-ay out of the saddle on a loping horse.

The Thacher Toad

You heard that right, the Toad is our School mascot. Nick Thacher, a grandson of founder Sherman Thacher and a 1963 graduate, explains why: “I spearheaded the movement to name Thacher’s teams the Toads. Unlike insecure schools whose machismo necessitates their adopting hopelessly arrogant nomenclature such as ‘Tigers’ and ‘Lions’ and ‘Spartans,’ we felt no necessity to advertise arrogance or virility. Instead, ‘Toads’ seemed appropriate because the nature of such beasts is one of humility and quiet persistence.”

The Reading of “The Chambered Nautilus”

Let each new temple, nobler than the last,

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,

Till thou at length are free,

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea.

So concludes Oliver Wendell Holmes’s poem, “The Chambered Nautilus,” and so begins every school year at Thacher. Our founder believed that the sea creature called the chambered nautilus, with its spiral shell, symbolizes each student’s mission to grow intellectually and personally each year. At the year’s first Assembly, the Head of School reads the poem to the gathered community.

Grahams & Milk

After Assembly, students and faculty can grab a handful of graham crackers and a carton of milk from big bowls near the Pergola—a great way to tide yourself over till lunchtime, and a longstanding tradition. Added since Mr. Thacher’s time: organic apples, locally grown.

Honey Butter

Any veteran Thacher Toad can explain how to mix the perfect ratio of honey to butter to create this classic dinner favorite, meant to spread on fresh homemade bread from Robin the baker.

Domine & The Banquet Song

At major banquets the School community opens the meal by singing a Latin grace—Domine—and closes with The Banquet Song. Written by Sherman Day Thacher, the latter captures the spirit of Thacher. Gather a few alums anywhere in the world, and they’ll sing it for you:

May old Casa Piedra not fade from our hearts,

Till our hearts cease their restless tattoo!

May honor, and fairness, and kindness, and truth

Be ours till life’s struggle is through.

May the stamp of the School be the stamp of our lives

Whose honesty carries us on,

To do the best work in the world that we can

Till the best we can do is all done.

Freshmen and The Boar’s Head Song

In early December, ninth graders learn an old carol called “The Boar’s Head.” At the start of the Holiday Banquet, the class president and another student carry a huge tray with a “boar’s head” on it—today an extravagant mock-up made of fruits and vegetables or cheese—as the rest of the class follows behind, singing the tune.

Seating Arrangements

For Assembly students arrange themselves on The Pergola by grade. Ninth graders sit on the “Freshman Wall” at the bottom of the terrace, sophomores on the lawn above, juniors on the next wall up, and seniors on both a lawn and a wall. (Rank hath its privileges.) In a springtime twist, on the day when the last twelfth grader gets into college, the seniors and freshmen switch places.

Open House

Each Saturday night of the school year, the Beatty-Pidducks open their home for two or three hours so students can drop in to play Ping-Pong or foosball or pool, bake cookies (or just nibble the dough), play games, watch a movie, dance, do some sort of seasonal craft (Valentines for parents, Christmas ornaments, jack-o’-lanterns), or just hang out where it’s warm and lively.

Camping Traditions

Riding over The Ridge, eating lunch at Utensil Point, hiking to Windy Gap to see the whole Owens Valley spread out at your feet, swimming your horse in the Sespe River between Hartman and Cotrell camps, soaking your aching limbs in the hot springs, spending a night at Patton’s Cabin and working on maintenance projects when you wake up—these are only a few among dozens of time-honored outdoor traditions at Thacher.

Finals Treats

Each night during final exams in fall and spring, students close their books at 9:30 p.m. and dash to the dining room or The Commons for a study break, featuring treats that range from specialty waffles, donuts, and cereal to quesadillas and ice cream bars.

UnProm

Forget limos, expensive dresses, and tuxedo rentals. At Thacher, the faculty puts on a dance every other year for the students called UnProm, an all-out event that may be quirky (thrift-store or trash-bin clothing only, assigned dates for the first dance, a goofy theme) but that bears enough resemblance to a typical high school prom to be loads of fun.

“Best Year Yet”

At the beginning of every year, you’ll hear a few School leaders (both adults and students) say, “May this be the best year yet!” It’s a wish, a hope, an expression of optimism that, together, all of us in the Thacher community can recreate our School and home to reflect the highest ideals.

Morning Jobs

At Thacher in the morning, everyone pitches in to keep the place presentable. If you’re not a freshman cleaning the barns, you’re a sophomore or junior maintaining a classroom or lab, or a senior sweeping a dorm.

TOADTalks

On Monday mornings, the Teacher On Active Duty (yes, the TOAD) gives a short talk on a topic that intrigues him or her, reads a poem, sings a song, or in some other expressive way shares something of personal, collective, or even universal importance and application. This is another way we all gain insight into each other’s perspectives on the world.

Color Guard

At the opening of every gymkhana and some athletic events, horses, riders and flags come together in a dazzling display of speed and color. Three horsemen or horsewomen gallop around the field, flying the flags of the United States, California, and the Thacher Gymkhana. Even people who have witnessed this event year after year are amazed and moved. We’d say it’s an “only at Thacher” moment.

Big Gymkhana

On a weekend in early May, riders in the Horse Program—all the freshmen and many upperclassmen—compete on teams in all sorts of horse races: barrels and poles, the hurry-scurry, the rescue race, even the Silver Dollar pick-up. Big Gymkhana Weekend draws hundreds of current Thacher families, alumni, and visitors to the School.

Holidays

The campus echoes with wild cheering when the head of school announces a holiday at assembly. Snow is one reason for a day off. It’s a rare event, but if a student is able to make a snowball on The Pergola, everyone is granted a day off from classes. Faculty babies are born more often than snow falls, and the happy event is also cause for a holiday. Sometimes, there’s a day off “just because.”

Holiday Caroling

After first-trimester exams, and just before everyone leaves for December break, anyone who’d like to makes the rounds of the campus, stopping at each dorm to serenade their peers with Christmas carols. Somewhere around midnight, the carolers wind down and head to the head of school’s home for cookies, brownies, and hot chocolate or cider.

The Silver Dollar Club

The great personal challenge of a Thacher student’s first year comes at Big Gymkhana—the chance to become a member of the exclusive Silver Dollar Club. To join, a rider must manage to scoop up a silver dollar from the dusty ground while leaning wa-a-ay out of the saddle on a loping horse.

The Thacher Toad

You heard that right, the Toad is our School mascot. Nick Thacher, a grandson of founder Sherman Thacher and a 1963 graduate, explains why: “I spearheaded the movement to name Thacher’s teams the Toads. Unlike insecure schools whose machismo necessitates their adopting hopelessly arrogant nomenclature such as ‘Tigers’ and ‘Lions’ and ‘Spartans,’ we felt no necessity to advertise arrogance or virility. Instead, ‘Toads’ seemed appropriate because the nature of such beasts is one of humility and quiet persistence.”

The Reading of “The Chambered Nautilus”

Let each new temple, nobler than the last,

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,

Till thou at length are free,

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea.

So concludes Oliver Wendell Holmes’s poem, “The Chambered Nautilus,” and so begins every school year at Thacher. Our founder believed that the sea creature called the chambered nautilus, with its spiral shell, symbolizes each student’s mission to grow intellectually and personally each year. At the year’s first Assembly, the Head of School reads the poem to the gathered community.

Grahams & Milk

After Assembly, students and faculty can grab a handful of graham crackers and a carton of milk from big bowls near the Pergola—a great way to tide yourself over till lunchtime, and a longstanding tradition. Added since Mr. Thacher’s time: organic apples, locally grown.

Honey Butter

Any veteran Thacher Toad can explain how to mix the perfect ratio of honey to butter to create this classic dinner favorite, meant to spread on fresh homemade bread from Robin the baker.

Domine & The Banquet Song

At major banquets the School community opens the meal by singing a Latin grace—Domine—and closes with The Banquet Song. Written by Sherman Day Thacher, the latter captures the spirit of Thacher. Gather a few alums anywhere in the world, and they’ll sing it for you:

May old Casa Piedra not fade from our hearts,

Till our hearts cease their restless tattoo!

May honor, and fairness, and kindness, and truth

Be ours till life’s struggle is through.

May the stamp of the School be the stamp of our lives

Whose honesty carries us on,

To do the best work in the world that we can

Till the best we can do is all done.

Freshmen and The Boar’s Head Song

In early December, ninth graders learn an old carol called “The Boar’s Head.” At the start of the Holiday Banquet, the class president and another student carry a huge tray with a “boar’s head” on it—today an extravagant mock-up made of fruits and vegetables or cheese—as the rest of the class follows behind, singing the tune.

Seating Arrangements

For Assembly students arrange themselves on The Pergola by grade. Ninth graders sit on the “Freshman Wall” at the bottom of the terrace, sophomores on the lawn above, juniors on the next wall up, and seniors on both a lawn and a wall. (Rank hath its privileges.) In a springtime twist, on the day when the last twelfth grader gets into college, the seniors and freshmen switch places.

Open House

Each Saturday night of the school year, the Beatty-Pidducks open their home for two or three hours so students can drop in to play Ping-Pong or foosball or pool, bake cookies (or just nibble the dough), play games, watch a movie, dance, do some sort of seasonal craft (Valentines for parents, Christmas ornaments, jack-o’-lanterns), or just hang out where it’s warm and lively.

Camping Traditions

Riding over The Ridge, eating lunch at Utensil Point, hiking to Windy Gap to see the whole Owens Valley spread out at your feet, swimming your horse in the Sespe River between Hartman and Cotrell camps, soaking your aching limbs in the hot springs, spending a night at Patton’s Cabin and working on maintenance projects when you wake up—these are only a few among dozens of time-honored outdoor traditions at Thacher.

Finals Treats

Each night during final exams in fall and spring, students close their books at 9:30 p.m. and dash to the dining room or The Commons for a study break, featuring treats that range from specialty waffles, donuts, and cereal to quesadillas and ice cream bars.

UnProm

Forget limos, expensive dresses, and tuxedo rentals. At Thacher, the faculty puts on a dance every other year for the students called UnProm, an all-out event that may be quirky (thrift-store or trash-bin clothing only, assigned dates for the first dance, a goofy theme) but that bears enough resemblance to a typical high school prom to be loads of fun.

“Best Year Yet”

At the beginning of every year, you’ll hear a few School leaders (both adults and students) say, “May this be the best year yet!” It’s a wish, a hope, an expression of optimism that, together, all of us in the Thacher community can recreate our School and home to reflect the highest ideals.

Morning Jobs

At Thacher in the morning, everyone pitches in to keep the place presentable. If you’re not a freshman cleaning the barns, you’re a sophomore or junior maintaining a classroom or lab, or a senior sweeping a dorm.

TOADTalks

On Monday mornings, the Teacher On Active Duty (yes, the TOAD) gives a short talk on a topic that intrigues him or her, reads a poem, sings a song, or in some other expressive way shares something of personal, collective, or even universal importance and application. This is another way we all gain insight into each other’s perspectives on the world.

Color Guard

At the opening of every gymkhana and some athletic events, horses, riders and flags come together in a dazzling display of speed and color. Three horsemen or horsewomen gallop around the field, flying the flags of the United States, California, and the Thacher Gymkhana. Even people who have witnessed this event year after year are amazed and moved. We’d say it’s an “only at Thacher” moment.